Stripper mechanism for conveyers



April 23, 1946. c. A. nAvlbsoN 2,398,821

v I STRIPPER MECHANISM FOR CONVEYERS Filed. Aprilv 21 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR:

` ATTORNEYS.

April 23,1946.` c. A. DAVIDSON 2,398,821

y STRIPPER MECHANISM FOR CONVEYERS Filed April 21', 1945 2 sheets-sheet 2 Y v T v v .v

' I I I owe` o o o WTNESSES y v INVENTOR:

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ATTORNEYSY Patented Apr. 23, 1946 2,398,821.. STEIPPER 1HECIWISIVY FQR GNEYESu y Charles. Af, Davidson; Bottstmrn-,Jaa

Application A'Dll-TZI, 19455;'S71'ial1Nu 5893665" fieiaims., lomos-230) This invention has referenceV to conveyers in general while it relatesV more particularly to the species of conveyer useful in furnacesserviceable for the heat-treatment of metal objects or things for tempering or hardening.' Incidentaltothe high temperature in which such conveyers: cusjtomarily operate the metal objectsorthingsbeing treated frequently cling or burn fast to `the-supporting surface of the conveyer withV the'lresult that', as said articles or things' arrive at the discharge or unloading end of the active flight-i of such conveyer they are liable to bev transported therebeyond with resultant` destruction andwaste whichperformthe same function foran anal-- ogouspurpose;

ReferringY more" in detaiLto. the drawings, a fragmentary portion` of a conventional heat- A treating, furnace is` comprehensively designated .bythe.referencev character 3,` said portionpconveniently being the dischargend` thereof forbetter illustration of' thestripper-cleaner; means` of`v this invention., Axfragmentarypartof the conveyer is `designated bythe numeral 24, and said conveyer is, conveniently; of the: inter-engaging slat type `soas to present a nat carrying surface, for

of valuable material dueto over-heating; burning and so forth.

The primary object of this invention isto effec# tively remove anypossi'bility for'the passagebe; yond the discharge end of the conveyer, as abovel indicated', of any object or 4thingfclingingv toA such conveyer.

Another Objectis the provision of an"adjustable stripper means whereby articlesv or things: cling-A ing to, oro-therwise adhered on, the active' flight of a heat-treating furnace conveyer'are'positively precipitated from or forcibly removed; as" they reach the discharge end of` such conveyer.

A further object is to furnish a'conveyer"be1t scraper or cleaner which is automaticin4 action and the various component parts' whereofA are easily removable and replaceable when necessary or required.`

While the foregoing definitions are indicative, in a general way,.of the aims cf this invention, other objects with ancillary'advantages will be evident to those skilled in the art" upon` av full understanding of the construction, arrangement' and operation of the means hereinafter'fullydisclosed; but it will also be appreciated" thatA the4 invention is susceptible of other embodiment'or structurally modified forms coming equally Within the terms and scope of the concluding claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a part side, and part sectional, elevation of a fragmentary portion of a heat-treating furnace including the novel conveyer-stripping means of this invention; and, I

Fig. 2 is a plan section of the same taken approXimately as indicated by the angled arrows II-II in Fig. l.

In describing the form of this invention eX- ernplied by the drawings above identified, specific terms will be employed for the sake of clarity, but it is to be understood the scope of said invention is not thereby limited; each said term being intended to embrace al1 equivalents progression thereon of thev objects or. things, such as, different sizedballk or roller races, spline sleeves and so forth, as' typically indicated by the'referencecharacters 5, 6Fig l, for example: only; Whilei said conveyeris, preferably, provided with anges 'l` to. prevent? said. castings; from` falling thereof at the'si'des: Theconveyer Iltis conveniently',` although notA essentially, trained about appropriate ,spikedl drums' or'spacedigears 8, fast on the drive-shaftj 9 and journaled in'bearings I0 outside the furnace'S; while` II; comprehensivelyA marks. the' chut@ down which vthe castings 5, 6 fall into a suitablequenching receptacley or tank, not shown, allofsaid partsA having beenbriefly referred" to inorder to` provide a proper background jfor'clarication of this invention.

` Journaled in; stationary bearings I2 aiiixedto theouter walls of the furnace 3, and in spaced relation with respect tothe conveyer drive-shaft 9, is apivot-shaft I3 on which is' splined or'suitably secured aA tubular"member4 I4 embodying radialarms I5 preferablyintegral with a stripping or*A scraper blade I6, arranged for ccaction with the.v outer, running or dischargel end of the conveyer' 4 and belowI the level of the axis of rotation of thel drive-shaft 9, fora purpose hereinafter explained.

Fastened .on' eachouter'projecting end of the pivot-shaft I3`, as'by" key means'l'l, Fig; 1, is the sleeve-like or hub-end I8 of a lever-arm I9; while said hub-end I8 embodies a tooth-projection 20 arranged for abutment below a lateral stop-lug 2| integral with the adjoining stationary bearing I2. Thus it will be seen that the respective lever-arms I 9 are limited as regards oscillatory movement to the left hand, as best understood from Fig. 1, whereas they can rock to the right hand for reasons later explained. Attention is directed to the stripping or scraper blade I6, the same being of somewhat wedge-shape in crosssection with the active edge 22 upwardly directed relative to the common plane of the radial arms I5 as clearly shown in Fig. 1; While it is to be further noted, said active edge 22, normally, is

located in close juxtaposition to the path of travel from actual contact with the active face of the conveyer; so that ordinarily, as said conveyer travels in the direction of the associated arrow shown in Fig. 1, thenon-adhered smaller articles 5-or the larger objects E-will beeasily moved from the conveyer surface and roll or slide down,

the inclined face 23 of the blade I6, said face being normally positioned at an angle, preferably of slightly less than forty-five degrees in respectA to the vertical, and over the upper rounded butt-edge 24 thereof, intermediate the radial arms I5 into the chute Il and drop into the quenching, tempering orV annealing receptacle therebelow.

In order to positively ensure that any adhered or burnt-on object or objects, which Ycling to the conveyer 4, shall be stripped from said conveyer as they reach the active edge 22 of the blade I6; the respective upper end of each leverarm I9 is forked at 25 forpivotal connection by suitable means 26, to the eyed end 21 of an associated pull-rod 28, in turn engaged through an appropriate guide bracket 29 rigidly attached to `the furnace wall. Each such pull-rod 29 vis tted with a recoil spring 30 and associated lockable-adjuster meansY 3l on its threaded outer portion 32 whereby the reactive influence of said spring may be varied as desired. Now, it will be apparent that when a heavier object or objects 6, which are more liable to be adhered to or cling on the face of the conveyor 4, reach the active edge 22, said edge will serve to shear the object or objects 6 therefrom while the shearing action will be controlled by the degree of resistance applied to the spring 3B by the adjustor means 3l, asv readily understood by those acquainted with the art. In other words, removal of the object or objects 6 will be effectively carried out by what may be conveniently termed as a combination scraper-cleaning force exerted on the conveyer end, with the result that said conveyer is freed of any adhering impedimenta otherwise tending to obstruct smooth operation of t into the tempering or annealing receptacle therebelow as aforesaid; or it may be precipitated over the active edge 22 as conventionally shown, by the dot-and-dash indication 6, towards the right side of said chute.

From the foregoing it will be clear that the conveyer 4 may be of any convenient type, and that it can be chain or link driven where said conveyer is guided on rails or the like, to maintain the active fiight'at, through the furnace 3; and furthermore it will alsoV be self-evident that my novel stripper means fully justies all of the objects set forth in the prefatory paragraphs of this specification.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

l. Stripper mechanism for a heat-treating furnace conveyer comprising a pivotal-shaft, journaled in spaced relation to the discharge end of said conveyer; radial arms projecting from said shaft` connected at their free ends by a scraper-blade of suitablel cross section to provide an active edge for disposition in close juxtaposition across the conveyer discharge end; a lever arm on each outer end of the pivotal-shaft and having a tooth-projection; stationary stop means for abutment by the respective tooth-projections to limit movement of the scraper-blade in one direction; a pull-rod fulcrumed to the free end of each lever with an associated rigid guide means; a recoil device on each pull-rod in engagement with the guide means at one end thereof; and an adjustor means on said pull-rod in engagement with the other end of the said recoil device, whereby the force of such recoil device is variable to control the degree of pivotal movement of the scraper-blade, for the purpose specilied.

2. The invention of claim r1 wherein the scraper-blade is of Wedge-shape with the active ed butt-edge 24 and gravitate down the chute H edge upwardly inclined at an acute angle to the vertical; and wherein said blade has its upper butt edge rounded, for the purpose specified.

3. The invention'of claim 1 wherein the pivotal-shaft for the scraper-blade is journaled in bearings, mounted exteriorly of the furnace, and wherein each said bearing embodies a stop means in the form of a laterally projecting lug for abutment by the associated lever arm tooth-projection, for the purpose specified.

4. The invention of claim 1 wherein the guide means for each pull-rod is in the form of an apertured bracket rigidly secured to the outer face of the furnace wall; and wherein the recoil device consists of a Coil spring in compression on the associated pull-rod intermediate said bracket and a lockable adjuster means engaged on the screw-threaded outer end portion of said pull-cord, for the purpose specified.

CHARLES A. DAVIDSON. 

